That the United States should decrease its military budget

Section 1: When we discuss whether or not we should decrease the military budget, we must first discuss what that is and what it is used for. According to pgfp.org, the U.S's defense spending (military budget) makes up only 15% of all government spending. The government spends about $4.4 trillion annually, so in the grand scheme of things, barely any of it goes to the military. We also need to consider the fact that the overall military budget has to be divided amongst the different branches: Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Marine Corps and now Space Force. So that's about $6.6 billion (give or take) split into six different branches of the military based on their needs. So it's not even always split evenly. The budget itself in turn, goes into a plethora of needs covering: uniforms, training, salaries, benefits for personnel (both service and civilian alike), maintaining their weapons, equipment and facilities, general supplies and funding operations. All of which are necessary for an effective military. This isn't taking into consideration the amount of money the military puts into taking care of the veterans, which include free college, housing assistance, free healthcare (which already doesn't get enough: please see the VA).

Section 2: My opponent claims that because the "big wars are over", we no longer need an effective military. This is a very poor argument. Just because the U.S is not currently in a war, our last war just ending in late 2018, does not mean the threat of war is gone. The U.S has its fair share of enemies, all of whom would probably love to invade us and wipe us off the face of the Earth (Iran being a prime example), at least two of these enemies consist of Russia and China, other superpowers. With these other countries constantly advancing their technology, it only makes sense for us to keep up to date, so to speak. We also have to consider that the U.S military is responsible for protecting us from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Section 3: There are plenty of benefits that come along with the current military budget outside of what I just mentioned in the sections above. It allows us to help keep the peace, this plays into us keeping up with the other superpowers in terms of advancement. If we have more up to date equipment and well trained troops, we have a very efficient military, which deters the desire to invade or attack us. It could also potentially benefit the economy. Defense contractors, such as Remington and ArmaLite, often sell some of their products in civilian markets. This allows for the military's and civilian's money to go back into the economy, creating circulation. The more both parties spend, the higher the demand, the more jobs that become available, which leads to more money in circulation. Another benefit, is that the U.S military also provides disaster relief, both in our own country and others. 

Section 4: My opponent brings up how our military budget may be better served going into other things, such as Covid-19 relief. First off, some of the military budget has gone into Covid relief. From providing Naval hospital ships in order to increase room in civilian hospitals, to researching the disease in order to help find a vaccine or cure. Outside of that, the U.S government wastes money on plenty of other things that they shouldn't be spending money on in the first place, such as education and healthcare. While that would be off topic and should be discussed in a different debate, I would like to point out that the government does spend an annual $1.67 billion on 77,000+ vacant/underutilized federal properties. That's a good chunk of money that could go literally any where else.

https://connectusfund.org/13-key-pros-and-cons-of-military-spending

https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-complete-history-of-the-ar-15-rifle

https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-complete-history-of-the-ar-15-rifle